BANKSY, LOVE RAT, SIGNED SCREEN PRINT IN COLOUR, 150, 2004
The Love Rat image first appeared as a mural in Liverpool as one of Banksy’s first works featuring his iconic rat character. Much like fellow Graffiti Artist, Blek Le Rat, the rat is among Banksy’s favourite symbols and some 20% of his prints feature a rat, such as Gangsta Rat and Radar Rat. In this screen print, we see the rat has daubed a red heart with a paintbrush he is still holding. As rats are often associated with being dirty and disliked, this painting could be suggesting that even the worst of the worst love someone. In a different interpretation one could see the dripping red heart painted by the rat as bleeding, in which case the Love Rat is in fact the cause of some pain of the heart. As Banksy jokingly advertised this print on his site: “Ideal for a cheating spouse.” Rats are also symbols of intelligence and shrewdness, which means the rodents could even be a manifestation of Banksy himself, reflecting on his position vis-à-vis the art establishment.
Read more about Love Rat by Banksy.
ABOUT BANKSY
Banksy is undoubtedly the world’s most sought-after and talked about street artist, his work represents his political and social commentary on the world, and has appeared on city walls throughout it – from London to New York, from Jamaica to the Gaza Strip.
Banksy is not only known for his high profile murals, he has been releasing limited edition prints for many years, produced in various formats, including signed and unsigned works, as well as artist proofs and gift prints. However, only a very select number of people know exactly what the elusive street artist creates and how many he releases. Some editions, for example, are only made available to VIPs, collectors and friends of Banksy’s who are part of the much-coveted inner circle. This has only made the demand for his limited edition silkscreen prints and artists proofs in circulation, grow in popularity year on year. Learn more about street artist Banksy.
